Women in Russian Culture and Society, 1700-1825 is a collection of essays by leading researchers shedding new light on women as writers, actresses, nuns and missionaries. It illuminates the lives of merchant and serf women as well as noblewomen and focuses on women's culture in Russia during this period.

"This collection of essays examines the lives of women across Russia--from wealthy noblewomen in St Petersburg to desperately poor peasants in Siberia--discussing their interaction with the Church and the law, and their rich contribution to music, art, literature and theatre. It shows how women struggled for greater autonomy and, both individually and collectively, developed a dynamic presence in Russia's culture and society"--Publisher's description.

Table of contents

"This title was first published in 2003. Although the topic of gender has been comparatively well explored with respect to Russia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the eighteenth century (1700-1825) is still under-researched. This collection of essays by authorities in the field from the USA, Russia, and Western Europe focuses on the social history and culture both of noblewomen and of lower-class women, about whom relatively little is currently known. This is the first collection of essays on women in eighteenth-century Russia. Much of the research is based on women's own evidence and on archival documents. The volume opens with a survey of recent research in this area and with discussions of male constructions of femininity at the beginning and end of the century. Women's culture is explored through women's own accounts of their education, and studies of their letters and literary works. Particular attention is paid to the direction of their reading by mentors and to the journals provided for women by male writers. Special topics include dress and cosmetics, arrangements for the defence of privacy, dowries, and irregular marital unions. Three essays uncover evidence about the lives of lower-class women, their involvement with the courts, and their experience of employment."--Provided by publisher.

"This collection offers a treasure trove of primary sources of interest to students of women's history. Carefully introduced and annotated, these documents illustrate the diversity of Russian women's lives." -- Barbara Alpern Engel "There is no other work that offers such a wide variety of documents and such a successful combination of literary and historical materials." -- Ann Hibner Koblitz This rich anthology of source materials makes available for the first time in any language a multitude of primary sources on the lives of Russian women from the reign of Peter the Great to the Bolshevik revolution. The selections are drawn from a wide variety of documents, published and unpublished, including memoirs, diaries, legal codes, correspondence, short fiction, poetry, ethnographic observations, and folklore. Primacy is given to sources produced by women and previously unavailable in English translation. Organized thematically, the documents focus on women's family life, work and schooling, public activism, creative self-expression, and sexuality and spirituality, as well as on the cultural ideals and legal framework which constrained women of all social classes.

This title was first published in 2003. Although the topic of gender has been comparatively well explored with respect to Russia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the eighteenth century (1700-1825) is still under-researched. This collection of essays by authorities in the field from the USA, Russia, and Western Europe focuses on the social history and culture both of noblewomen and of lower-class women, about whom relatively little is currently known. This is the first collection of essays on women in eighteenth-century Russia. Much of the research is based on women's own evidence and on archival documents. The volume opens with a survey of recent research in this area and with discussions of male constructions of femininity at the beginning and end of the century. Women's culture is explored through women's own accounts of their education, and studies of their letters and literary works. Particular attention is paid to the direction of their reading by mentors and to the journals provided for women by male writers. Special topics include dress and cosmetics, arrangements for the defence of privacy, dowries, and irregular marital unions. Three essays uncover evidence about the lives of lower-class women, their involvement with the courts, and their experience of employment.

This collection of essays examines the lives of women across Russia from wealthy noblewomen in St Petersburg to desperately poor peasants in Siberia discussing their interaction with the Church and the law, and their rich contribution to music, art, literature and theatre. It shows how women struggled for greater autonomy and, both individually and collectively, developed a dynamic presence in Russias culture and society.